The Return of the King
by Gryphinwyrm7
Summary: Asriel Coffin is three months pregnant and is plauged by strange dreams. On the eve of Kaiba's second Battle City Tournament unusual things begin to occur, and a mystery 1,500 years in the making begins to unfold.
1. The King has Returned

**Yu-Gi-Oh: Return of the King**

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Yu-Gi-Oh! 

_**Author's notes:** Before I leave for Madagascar I'll tease you with the opening chapter of this fic. When I return I will update War, and hopefully finish that before I continue this. Enjoy!_

**New York, Central Park: 12:03AM**

The mists on the lake parted as a mysterious figure emerged on a small skiff. He wore a golden crown on his head and wore archaic armor, similar to that of Roman Legionaries. A golden colored shield he wore on his chest, with a dragon crest emblazoned onto it.

He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, and sported a brown beard with just a touch of gray in it.

"City of Wonders," he whispered climbing out of the boat.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Warren "Wolf" Andrews and Buffy Summers were making out by the lakeshore. Wolf slowly began reaching up Buffy's blouse for her bra-strap.

"Wolf," Buffy his breaking her face away from her boyfriend, "I told you no!"

"But Buffy," Wolf said, "Everyone is doing it…"

"Well I guess you're nobody 'cause we're not!" Buffy said.

"Back away from her knave," the mysterious figure declared stepping out of the mists. "The lady said no."

"One," Wolf said, "She's my girlfriend and I wouldn't ask her to do something that she wouldn't want to do. Two since when is it any of your business?"

Wolf snarled and bared his teeth. The man cocked an eyebrow now getting a good look at the Wolf's features. Wolf had snow-white hair, sharp fangs and two pointed ears on top of his head.

"A wolf demon eh?" the unnamed stranger said.

Wolf cocked his head in surprise; most people could not recognize him for what he was. Many would just stare at his ears or worse. Wolf had had to deal with much growing up but he had kept his demon pride.

"I'll have you know that I am a direct descendant of Rikuo Amero," Wolf said proudly.

The bearded man gave a sot of half smile, "Many demons of the Wolf Tribe claim that they are Rikuo's descendants. Most are just illegitimate descendants of Terra."

"How dare YOU!" Wolf growled at the insinuation of being descended from the wolf demon thief. He lunged at the bearded man with all of his demon strength and power. Buffy looked on from the sidelines.

To Wolf's complete surprise the man easily dodged him spun around and smacked him on the head, knocking the wind out of him.

"What?" Wolf asked not completely certain of what just occurred. "That does it buddy," he declared, "I challenge you to a Duel!"

"A duel?" the man said. "Like the sorcerer's duels that my mentor used to hold? What is the present medium for such games?"

Wolf wasn't sure of what the man was asking, but he calmly placed his duel disk on his arm and activated it. He then drew six cards.

"Cards?" The man said. "The so be it. Activate Soul Duel Disk!"

There was a brief flash of light and a pure white duel disk appeared on the mystery man's arm. It looked somewhat like the Chaos Duel disks that Buffy had once encountered. She prayed that this man wouldn't play The Seal of Oricalcos against Wolf.

Wolf-4000LP

Mysterious Figure-4000LP

"I'll go first," Wolf said, "Mother Grizzly in attack mode. (1400/1000) and two cards facedown. That'll be it pops."

A blue colored grizzly bear appeared in front of Wolf and growled at the mysterious man.

"I summon Sir Lancelot the Ill-Made Knight in attack mode (1900/1400)," The mysterious man said, "And when Sir Lancelot is summoned I can summon one more card from my hand with Knight in it's name, so come forth Sir Galahad the Pure Knight!" (1400/1500)

The first knight to appear looked somewhat like the Marauding Captain, save for the black hair and the armor: which looked like it had been slapped together at the last second. Wolf noticed a small look of regret in the mysterious man's eyes as he played the card.

The second knight looked a great deal like the first except that he was blond and wore silver armor that looked almost like overkill.

"Lancelot," the man declared, "Attack his Mother Grizzly!" The knight rushed forward with his rusty sword and sliced through the bear.

Wolf-3500LP

Mysterious Figure-4000LP

"Now by my Mother Grizzly's Effect," Wolf said, "I can summon another one! (1400/1000)"

A second blue grizzly bear appeared in front of him.

"I know," The man said, "I was counting on it. Galahad attack!"

"They tie!" Wolf yelled, and sure enough the two monsters grappled with one another and shattered apart.

Another Mother Grizzly appeared in front of Wolf. (1400/1000)

"When Galahad is destroyed I can summon two monsters with "Knight" in there name to the field," the man said.

"Sir Tristram the Brave Knight, (1600/1500) and Sir Percival the Grail Knight (1800/1900)"

A tall knight with a fire red sword and red armor and a blond knight with a goatee wearing blue armor and holding not a sword but a small wooden cup appeared.

Wolf's eyes widened in surprise. "They were summoned as new creatures during the battle phase!"

"Indeed," the man said smiling. "Percival attack Mother Grizzly!"

A single beam of light erupted from the water and struck Mother Grizzly down. She shattered apart and no new monsters came to take her place.

Wolf-3100LP

Mysterious Figure-4000LP

"Tristram direct attack," The man declared. The red knight rushed forward and struck the wolf demon, sending him flying backwards.

Wolf-1500LP

Mysterious Figure-4000LP

"I set one card facedown and end my turn," the man said.

"That does it," Wolf snarled, "I summon Fenrir, by removing from play two Mother Grizzlies in my graveyard. (1400/1200)"

White mist poured out of the ground and a single gray wolf appeared on the field.

"Next I summon my Wolf Axewielder," (1650/1000) Wolf said, slapping the card onto his duel disk.

A biped wolf wearing American Indian garb appeared. He had a shield and a large battle-ax.

"Wolf Axewielder attack Sir Tristram!" Wolf growled. The Bipedal Lupine rushed forward and sliced Tristram in half.

Wolf-1500LP

Mysterious Figure-3950LP

"My other monster is too weak to attack," Wolf said, "So it's your move."

"I draw," the man said. "I summon Gawain the Courageous Knight. (1350/2400) in defense mode."

A single small but spunky looking knight with a large shield appeared in front of the mystery man.

"I then switch Lancelot, and Percival to defense as well. Your move"

"Then I draw," Wolf snarled snapping the top card from his deck. He looked at it and grinned. "I play Raigeki! This blows away all three of your monster!"

A bolt of lightning shot down and struck the man's field, blasting all of his monsters into oblivion.

"Now I sacrifice my Fenrir and Wolf Axewielder for Behemoth King of all Animals (2700/1500)"

The twin wolves shattered apart as a gigantic purple wolf with horns appeared in their place.

"Behemoth," Wolf growled, "Attack his life points directly,"

The beast lunged forward and struck at the man. Despite the large claws pawing at him the man never once flinched, but instead in one cool motion dodged the attack without missing a beat. The creature tried to strike his target but was unsuccessful. He sauntered back over to Wolf's side and whimpered.

Wolf-1500LP

Mysterious Figure-1250LP

"I draw," the man said, not even acknowledging the life points lost. "I summon Mordred the Dark Knight in defensive mode. (0/2100)"

A single black knight with a wicked looking sword appeared in a crouching position.

"End turn," he said.

"Then this is over," Wolf snickered. "I summon Saber Wolf (1750/2000) in attack mode."

A pure white wolf with long Saber-toothed tiger-like fangs appeared. He growled at the man.

"Behemoth attack Mordred," The purple beast lunged and struck the dark knight. There was a flash of black lightning and Wolf's field was empty.

"Do you know nothing?" the man asked, "Mordred was the traitor. When he fell the whole kingdom of Camelot fell with him. As did his father."

"Why should I care about some dusty old legends?" Wolf growled.

The man smiled, "All myths have a seed of truth in them, didn't you know that? You have a valiant soul, and perhaps you and your lady there shall be the first of my neo-knights. I sacrifice all of the cards in my graveyard Lancelot, Galahad, Tristram, Gawain, Percival, and Mordred in order to summon Nexus the Conqueror."

An armored warrior emerged onto the man's field, (3500/3000) but despite the high attack power Wolf didn't look worried.

"Your apparent lack of concern causes me to believe that your facedown cards are traps, so I activate the Facedown card I played on my first turn. Return from the Different Dimension,"

Wolf-1500LP

Mysterious Figure-625LP

Tristram, Percival, and Lancelot appeared on the man's field (1600/1000) (1800/1900) (1900/1400)

"I sacrifice these three noble warriors for the single most powerful creature in my deck The Once and Future King: Pendragon! (3500/3000)"

Instead of a holographic representation of the monster appearing however, the man stepped forward onto the field himself. It was then that Wolf realized that the man looked exactly like the picture on the card.

"I have not yet recovered my sword," Pendragon said, "So this will have to do." He held up a wicked looking mace.

"But before I attack I play Polymerization to fuse myself with Nexus," Pendragon said as the two of them flowed together into a vortex. When he emerged he still appeared to be Pendragon, but he wore the armor of Nexus.

"I am now The Return of the King: Pendragon the Conqueror. (4500/3500)" he said, "And when I am summoned I destroy all face-down spell and trap cards on the field. I have none, but you have two."

_Wolf's two facedown cards shattered to pieces. "It can't be!" he whispered._

_"I finish this," Pendragon said and swung his mace._

_Wolf-0LP_

_King Arthur Pendragon-625LP_

Asriel Coffin awoke with a start. She looked down at her sleeping husband. He unborn child stirred within her.

Ever since she had gotten pregnant she had been having strange dreams. This was just the latest in a long series.

"Honey," Davis said stirring, "go back to sleep, Kaiba's second annual Battle City tournament is tomorrow and we need our rest."

"Uh huh," she said standing up and sliding out into the kitchen leaving her husband to rest.

"What are you doing up at this hour?" Griffin Heart, Asriel's uncle said. He glanced over his niece as he poured the milk into his cereal. He then decided to answer his own question.

"You had another dream didn't you?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, "This once was strange…it was right here in New York. It was a duel. Normally I wouldn't think much of a dueling dream right before a big tournament like this but these dreams have got me rattled."

"When are you going to tell your husband about them?" Griffin asked shoveling a spoonful of Lucky Charms into his mouth.

"Never," she said shaking her head, "He's been worrying enough with this baby coming and the tournament…I just don't want to put him under that kind of stress."

Asriel looked at her uncle and cocked her head; "Does Aunt Christy know that you're raiding the cereal?"

Griffin began coughing and sputtering as he choked on his cereal. "No! And don't tell her, I promised her I wouldn't touch the cereal again."

Uh huh," She said putting her hands on her hips. "So long as you don't tell Davis about my dreams."

"All right," Griffin said, "But you should."

Griffin placed his bowl in the sink and wandered off to his bed. Asriel stepped out onto the balcony and looked out into the New York nightline.

To be continued…

Original Cards:

Sir Lancelot the Ill-made Knight

Sir Galahad the Pure Knight

Sir Tristram the Brave Knight

Sir Percival the Grail Knight

Sir Gawain the Courageous Knight

Sir Mordred the Dark Knight

Saber Wolf

The Once and Future King: Pendragon

The Return of the King: Pendragon the Conqueror

Original Cards by Wolf General

Nexus the Conqueror

AN: If you are wondering how I uploaded this while I am in Madagascar, it is because I have Time Travel powers. Powers named "My sister uploading this while I'm gone."


	2. Battle City II Begins

**Yu-Gi-Oh: Return of the King**

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Yu-Gi-Oh! 

**Author's notes:** I'm back from Madagascar and I'm going to give you a taste of what this fiction is about

_King Arthur walked down the streets with Buffy and Wolf. He paused at a poster with an Image of Seto Kaiba on it._

"_What is this 'Battle City'?" King Arthur asked cocking an eyebrow at his two new friends._

_Buffy smiled at King Arthur, "It's an exclusive tournament being held by Kaiba Corp, the Idea is sort of like the Olympics. Several cities New York, Paris, Munich, and Egypt all placed bids to see who could hold the tournament. New York won, and Paris came in second, so this year the tournament is being held in New York, and next year it will be in Paris."_

_"It's exclusive," Wolf said, "You only get to get in if Kaiba himself invites you."_

_"There are only 50 duelists who were invited," Buffy continued, "Including Wolf and myself, the Idea is that players wager their Rarest cards and these things called Locator Cards. Each competitor has to win 6 locator cards in order to qualify for the finals. There can only be ten finalists."_

_Buffy smiled and linked up her arm with Wolf's "Kaiba's using the tournament to showcase his DD3 and DD4."_

_"And knowing Kaiba," Wolf said, "He probably has another ulterior motive."_

_"He does," Buffy said, "He used to be world champion, then Yugi beat him, a little while later two other duelists Deondre Anderson and Eli Meggido beat him. This is like his comeback."_

_"It also seems a likely place for trouble to strike," King Arthur said, "I have been wondering why I was brought back here and not in England and I may have found my answer. I must get into that tournament."_

_"How?" Buffy asked._

Davis clicked on the Battle City Icon on the screen. The list of tournament competitors flashed on the screen. Davis looked it over cautiously surveying his potential competition.

Seto Kaiba-5-Blue-Eyes White Dragonx3

Yugi Muto-5-The Winged Dragon of Ra/Slifer the Sky Dragon/Obelisk the Tormentor

Daniel Pilkington-5-Jinzo

Rikuo Amero-5-Unknown

Eli Meggido-5-Unknown

Joey Wheeler-4-Red Eyes Black Dragon

Davis Coffin-4-Dark Magician of Chaos

Asriel Coffin-4-The Once and Future King: Pendragon

Achmed Mohistiva-4-The Spirit of the Pharaoh

Apollo-4-Thunder Ruler Ze Us

Bjorn "BJ"-4- Buster Blader

Kai Knight-4-Guardian Aiatos

Kell Zephyr-4- Makyhura the Destructor

Allison Pegasus-3-Toon World/Relinquished

Ibrahim Ben Maimon-4-Archlord Zerrato

Deondre Anderson-5-Lord of the Different Dimension

CJ Anderson-4-Nexus the Conqueror

Weevil Underwood-4-The Grand Elusa

Rex Raptor-4-Black Tyranno

Mako Tsunami-4-Ocean Dragon Lord-Neo-Daedalus

Michael Agua-4-Ocean Dragon Lord-Neo-Daedalus

Draco Nidhoggr-4-Red Eyes Darkness Dragon

Raymond Dirk-3-Don Zaloog

Sharia Mohistiva-4-Yamata Dragon

Mai Valentine-4-Harpies Feather Duster

Buffy Summers-4-Vampire Genesis

Paul Kendrick-4-Dark Ruler Ha Des

Erasmus Akillions-4-Dark Magician

Imhotep-4-Temple of the Kings

Kim Peilei-4-Molten Lava Golem

Tony Price-4-Brain Control

Phoenix Talon-4-Stranded

Mohammed Mohistiva-4-Exodia The Forbidden One

Badr Sayid-4-Arabian Phoenix Ankara

Rama-4-Hinokagasuchi

Megan Laffette-4-Cosmo Queen

Panic-4-Dark Master Zorc

Bonz-4-Samedi the Monarch of Death

Warren Andrews-4-Behmoth King of all the Animals

Kira Avalon-4-Unkown

Tru Ferguson-4-Grand Emperor Dragon-Envoy of Revenge

Valon-4-Psychic Armor Head

Harpagon-4-Unknown

Yoruto-4-Raven Demon Master

Espa Roba-4-Cyber Mimic

Mike Xanatos-5-Infernal Flame Emperor

Questor Thews-4-Oberon the Fairy King

Yoda-4-Darth Vader

Rameses-4-Imhotep the Bringer of Death

Naohuru Unmei-4-Oni Shogun

Davis frowned slightly. Some of the duelists he recognized, and some he didn't. And some of them sounded familiar, like some of the duelists Eli had described dueling some time ago.

"This could be my biggest tournament," Davis said aloud. There had been a lot of rumors surrounding the GDT, and though it had placed Davis on the map, he had not been really considered a major contender until a year ago.

He looked over from the computer screen at his wife, who was herself fidgeting with her deck.

"Quicksilver Knight or Sokar Knight?" she muttered aloud, "Or both?"

Asriel hadn't been herself lately and it was bothering Davis. He knew she was hiding something from him, but what he wasn't quite sure.

Davis closed his eyes briefly and then came a knock at the door. Davis stood up and walked over to the door. He opened it to find a small package marked UPS. He picked it up and looked at it. He did not recognize the return address but he did recognize the sender. "Leo," he wondered out loud. He shrugged and placed the package in his bookbag with his duel disk.

He paused and pulled out and looked at his DD2.

Asriel looked at Davis and smiled, "I still don't know why you don't just upgrade to one of the two new duel disks."

"Why?" Davis asked incredulously "They all do the same thing. I don't see the point of Kaiba making new models of the duel disks."

"Style, Honey," she said shaking her head, "Something you've always seemed to have a poor sense of."

"You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition," Davis said, followed briefly by a pillow in his face.

"_It is simple," King Arthur said, "All I need to do is defeat a duelist with a locator card and win it from them. From there I can compete in the tournament and continue on to the Finals."_

_Buffy was amazed at how quickly the Once and Future King was catching on._

_"What do have that could possibly be worth wagering a locator card for?" Wolf wondered aloud. He paused, and glanced at the expectant look in King Arthur's eyes._

_"Oh no," he groaned, "You're going to wager our two locator cards for that person's one right?"_

_"I will not force you do anything," The King said._

_"But you ask it don't you," Wolf said shaking his head. _

_"You are my Neo-Knights, but you are also my only friends as of right now," King Arthur said, "I would not wish to risk your spot in the tournament."_

_"I'll do it," Buffy said._

_"All right, all right," Wolf groaned, "But let's pick a weak duelist OK…Like Weevil Underwood or someone."_

"Welcome duelists," Kaiba said, "To my second Battle City Tournament. I want to kick things off fast so I'll make this quick. Same rules as last time and may the best man win. Tournament officially begins in one hour."

The duelists began milling out of Madison Square Gardens where Kaiba had made his announcement. Davis and Asriel looked around the various duelists for some of their friends.

Davis spotted Eli Meggido, but was nowhere close enough to say hi to him. He also thought he spotted Daniel Pilkington but it was only for a moment and he didn't see him again.

Davis had heard that Daniel had changed his strategy to the new Elemental Heroes that had just been printed. Davis was eager to find out if it was true.

"Bye honey," Asriel said kissing her husband on the cheek, "Remember next time we see each other we're rivals, and I'm itching for a rematch."

"Again," Davis said, "Why? You won last time we dueled."

"That was our honeymoon," She said smiling, "Your mind wasn't exactly in the game." She trailed off.

"Touché," Davis said, and kissed his wife goodbye.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Paris, France; One Week Ago,**

Tony Price slugged another beer. "Keep up coming barkeep."

"Tony Price," a silky sinister voice said, sliding up next to him. The voice while distinctly female, was very ominous. The figure herself was cloaked, features obscured.

"What'ya want?" he asked his voice slurring together.

"I wish to hire you," She said slowly. "Simply name your price."

Tony laughed, "I'm not for sale. You want me to duel right. Well forget it."

"Why not?" she asked. "I am willing to pay anything within reason."

"Lady," Tony said, "Unless you can give me back The Seal of Oricalcos, I'm not for sale." Tony snickered at his own joke.

"The Seal of the Oricalcos," she asked questioningly, "Is that your cost?"

"Yeah," he sniggered, "That's it babe."

"Done," she said holding up three green backed cards with glowing green seals on them. "Get packed because I have several people I want out of the way, and I want them gone before you compete in Kaiba's tournament next week."

Tony's eyes bulged out. He fingered the Atlantian cards like a drug addict fingers heroin.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Davis paused in Central Park, simply taking in the sights and smells of New York. He spotted a duelist wearing a DD4.

("Seems good to me,") Davis thought. "Hey," Davis said, "You ready?"

The kid turned to Davis, "Yep, let's do this…"

Davis-4000LP

Kell-4000LP

"Name's Kell Zephyr by the way," Kell said, "And I know that you're Davis Coffin so now that the formalities are out of the way let's get this party started."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Asriel paused as she waited by the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island. Kaiba's instructions on the tournament invitation said to spread out through the city like tourists, and when you encountered another duelist, challenge them.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a DD3.

"Hey," she said spinning around, then she recognized the duelist.

"Kai Knight!" She said smiling.

Kai looked surprised. "Asriel," he said simply.

"You really pissed me off in our last duel," Asriel said. "I think that we had a rematch. This time though, I won't make dumb moves, so long as you don't make amateur moves OK?"

"Agreed," Kai said. Asriel's DD4 snapped into place at the same time as Kai's DD3 clicked on.

Kai-4000LP

Asriel-4000LP

"I'll start off with Backup Guardna in defense mode," Kai said (1000/2200)

A purple creature that looked like some sort of beast appeared, but Asriel knew it was a warrior.

"I equip him with the Rod of Silence Kay'est," Kai said, "This raises him by 500 defense points. (1000/2700) I also set two cards facedown."

"I summon Quicksilver Knight in defense mode," (0/0) Asriel said, "and I also set two cards facedown."

"I summon Guardian Kay'est," Kai said, in attack mode. (1000/1800) "And as you probably already know, Backup Guardna allows me to move equip cards to whoever I feel like. So Kay'est gets to hold her own weapon. (1000/2300) (1000/2200)

"Not a big deal," Asriel said.

"Ah but Asriel," Kai said, "The fun has just begun!"

To be continued…

AN: All right, here is the breakdown. This is how it's going to work. There is no room for Original Characters here, sorry. But I have not decided who is dueling in this fic beyond the two duels here. That is up to you…the reviewer. Who do you want to see duel? Daniel verses Buffy perhaps? Eli verses Yugi? It is your choice. Granted you don't know some of these characters…but I assure you they all have back stories and you'll get to know them if you choose them. Some are from my brother's Fanfic, the first chapter of which I hope he uploads within the week. Others were created just for this fic. OK First and foremost, who will fall victim to King Arthur as he worms his way into the tournament?

Rex Raptor? Badr Sayid? Phoenix Talon? Who? Let me know how you feel.

Original Cards:

Thunder Ruler Ze Us

The Grand Elusa

Stranded

Cyber Mimic

Oberon the Fairy King

Quicksilver Knight

Sokar Knight

Darth Vader

Raven Demon Master

Original Cards by Wolf General (WG), Seeker of the Soul (SOTS), Grisham (G) adanaC (AC), Lord Raven Drakkon (LRD), Vyser Adept of Dragons (VAD), High-Elf Swordsman, (HES) Maxwell the Dark One (MDO) Guardian Master (GM) and John (J):

Nexus The Conqueror (WG)

Lord of the Different Dimension (WG)

Arabian Phoenix Ankara (G)

Grand Emperor Dragon-Envoy of Revenge (WG)

Imhotep the Bringer of Death (My brother who does not yet have a Pen Name)

Oni Shogun (AC)

Review Responses: To Guardian Master: As you can see, Kai is in this fic, and yes his deck is needed. Actually, not so much his deck as his original cards.

To Maxwell the Dark One: What? I'm sorry but…what? Your Review, I could not understand! (Yoda voice!)

To Wolf General: So pleased am I, that I could tickle your funny bone. I really don't know if Wolf is as he says a descendant of Rikuo, or really from Terra…I don't follow demon Genealogies. I guess you will tell if and when you feel like it. Now I wonder what Terra and Rikuo's connection is.

To John: Again with the reviews that make no sense when I read them. What are you trying to say!

To High Elf Swordsman: And you can tell that this is my best work ever because…Sheesh you've only read just one chapter. Though I can tell you right now that this fiction will get pretty dark. I still feel that Chapter 26 of War was my best work ever.

To Seeker of the Soul: Isn't it though? This does promise to be a very interesting fic. Especially with all that is going on. There are more layers here than in War, and that's saying something cause War had layers within layers from chapter 3.

To Vyser: Hmm…is Kell going to be in this? I'm not sure let's see…oh wait, he's dueling Davis. Yay I guess he is in this. Cool Beans.

Just FYI I am open to Original Cards.


	3. Where's a Jinzo when I need One?

**Yu-Gi-Oh!: Return of the King!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Oh, and there's a character in this chapter who's not mine either, he's Seeker of the Soul's. And many other Characters belong to Wolf General.

**Author's Notes: **The King has returned.

_King Arthur frowned at the pair before him._

"_You two do not seem like all that much to me," The ruler said. "You seem well; I'll put it bluntly…inept at this game."_

"_HEY!" Weevil screeched in protest. "I'll have you know that I was the regional champion."_

"_More like _chumpion_!" Wolf snickered. Buffy gave her boyfriend a look that said "shut up"_

"_And I was runner up!" Rex chimed in._

"_My apologies," King Arthur responded. "I'm not from around here. Perhaps you should show me your skills, in combat."_

_King Arthur's soul duel disk activated._

"_Two on one seems hardly fair," Weevil interjected._

"_Very well," King Arthur just nodded at Buffy who immediately took a stance next to him. _

"_Dame Buffy shall duel along side me," King Arthur said. "We'll wager two locator cards on this match."_

_King Arthur-4000LP_

_Rex Raptor-4000LP_

_Buffy-4000LP_

_Weevil Underwood-4000LP_

"_I shall start with Knight's Calling," King Arthur said. "This costs one thousand life points but we all get to summon as many cards from our decks with "Knight" in their name as we like."_

_King Arthur-3000LP_

_Rex Raptor-4000LP_

_Buffy-4000LP_

_Weevil Underwood-4000LP_

_Five monsters appeared on Pendragon's field. "Sir Tristram the Brave Knight (1600/1500) Sir Percival the Grail Knight (1800/1900) Sir Gawain the Courageous Knight (1350/2400) and my Meridian Knight. (0/0)_

"_Meridian Knight is a five star monster so by the law of Knight's Calling I must discard my hand"_

"_I don't have any Knight Monsters," Rex said. Buffy nodded in assessment._

"_I've got none either," She said. King Arthur shook his head. "Look again."_

_Her duel disk was beeping and glowing, it transformed on her arm into a soul disk like Arthur's. _

"_Nosferatu Knight?" She said in surprise as the card appeared on her field. (1850/2300)_

_It looked very much like her Vampire Lord card, but wore the armor of a knight. There was a dragon-like emblem on the armor of all of King Arthur's cards; this emblem was also on Nosferatu Knight._

_Wolf's duel disk changed into a soul disk as well. He immediately popped it loose and scoured through it, finding the card that wasn't there before. Lycanthropic Knight. (2450/1600) (Six stars/Effect/Beast-Warrior)_

"_Ah good," King Arthur said sounding completely unsurprised. "When Nosferatu Knight is played I can special summon from my soul Lady Buffy the Neo-Knight (1550/1550)"_

_Armor appeared over Buffy's casual cloths and she found herself unable to resist stepping out onto the field._

"_If you're done with all that worthless chit-chat," Weevil said. "My Cockroach Knight (1000/1000) and Insect Knight (1900/1500) have taken to the field."_

_The two bugs appeared on Weevil's field._

"_You two should stop bragging about past victories that have since lost meaning," King Arthur said. "You were the regional champions, I get that, but then other better warriors overcame you, but you did not learn from your losses, you did not grow, and now it costs you. When Lady Buffy the Neo-Knight is played I may attack no matter what the restrictions are."_

_Weevil and Rex stepped back in horror. They hadn't even taken their turns yet and King Arthur was about to attack._

"_I sacrifice Tristram, Percival and Gawain to summon the Once and Future King Pendragon (3500/3000)" The former ruler stepped out, joining Buffy on the field._

"_Meridian Knight's Attack power is equal to that of all Knight Monsters in play," (6300/0) _

_King Arthur pointed towards Weevil's Cockroach Knight and Meridian Knight obeyed, lunging and attacking the card with a quick slice of his red sword._

_King Arthur-3000LP_

_Rex Raptor-4000LP_

_Buffy-4000LP_

_Weevil Underwood-0LP_

_King Arthur Nodded at Buffy. She drew her sword while King Arthur raised his mace and lunged…_

_Rex Raptor-0LP_

_The pair fell to the ground with their heads still spinning from their quick defeat._

_As the Once and Future King, and his entourage left, a man approached the dinosaur and insect duelists._

"_That was pathetic," he said. "You two have no skills at this game whatsoever."_

"_Leave us alone," Weevil demanded._

"_But you could be so much better," the man said._

"_Who are you and what do you want?" Rex asked._

"_I am Dalin Imaki Sumatin," he said. "I'm from the Underworld of Dueling; I have a proposition for you…"_

Eli frowned. "Damn it," he snorted. He'd forgotten that he was registered for the stupid tournament.

He'd been trying to find Davis, Asriel and Achmed all afternoon. But every time that he'd come close to finding his friends and warning them, some no account duelist blocked his path and demanded a duel.

The worst part was that they weren't even stimulating duels. Bones and his crew tried to scare him in a cemetery, but of course Eli was better than that. He'd taken them down in two turns.

Then there was that Panic guy. He tried to use scare tactics and intimidation to take Eli down. Eli had faced gods, demons, and fallen angels; nothing scared him. He was looking forward to the finals and some challenging duels. Perhaps another match with Rikuo Amero would be worthwhile. Kaiba certainly wasn't a threat to him anymore.

It was then, drifting through his own thoughts about Kaiba that Eli noticed Davis, nailed down in one place.

"Thank God!" he said rolling his eyes skyward as he rushed over towards Davis. He recognized Davis's opponent immediately and remained silent. What he needed to tell Davis was not for prying ears. He did make himself visibly known to both duelists however.

Davis-4000LP

Kell Zephyr-4000LP

"I'll go first," Kell said drawing. "Two cards face-down and I summon Makyura the Destructor in attack mode (1600/1200).

A purple warrior with long claws and a golden Wadjet on its face appeared in front of Kell.

Davis frowned. "I've never heard of that card before."

Kell chuckled. "I was formerly a rare hunter, we made it our business to collect and acquire rare cards, and I was very good at my job. I was one of Merik's number one hunters. My deck is stacked with so many rare cards; you'll never be able to stop me."

Externally Davis showed no emotion, but inwardly he was worried. In duel monsters the rarer a card was the more powerful it was. Davis himself didn't own many rare cards until he'd married Asriel. Asriel's aunt worked for Industrial Illusions and had provided Davis with his choice of rare cards.

Even so, Davis had been modest about collecting rare cards and even now his rarest card was still Dark Magician of Chaos.

"That's it for my turn," Kell said.

"Okay," Davis said. "Then it's time to show you what I've got!"

Davis drew his sixth card and examined his hand carefully.

"I summon my D.D. Survivor (1800/200) in attack mode," Davis said. "I set one card face-down and Equip D.D. Survivor with Big Bang Shot (2200/200)"

The D.D. Survivor appeared in attack mode in front of Davis. A strange mechanical boot appeared on its foot as the face down card appeared behind him.

Kell's face contorted into one of disgust. "Spell cards?" he asked. "God I hate those cards. They're just too easy, too broken for real play. You can't have a real strategy with a spell card. Traps are the way to go."

Davis smiled. "It may be broken, but it's the card I play, Survivor, attack Makyura the Destructor!"

The Survivor took a flying leap across the field and slammed the mechanical boot down on the purple warrior. Makyura shuddered and shattered apart.

Davis-4000LP

Kell Zephyr-3400LP

"Fool," Kell said. "Do you know what happens when Makyura the Destructor goes to the graveyard?"

Davis frowned. "No what?"

"I can activate trap cards from my hand without restriction. First trap card, Dust Tornado is the Trap card version of Mystical Space Typhoon."

A giant tornado spun across the field and struck D.D. Survivor's Big Bang Shot and shattered it apart. The Survivor looked surprised for about three seconds before vanishing in a rainbow colored portal.

Kell chuckled. "Spell cards have such nasty weaknesses. Like if Big Bang shot is destroyed the monster equipped with it is removed from play. I activate one of the facedown cards I played: Call of the Haunted. Bring back Makyura!" (1600/1200)

From the ground the monster erupted in a rapid motion. The creature took a battle stance in front of Kell.

"Makyura!" Kell declared. "Attack Davis directly!"

It was Davis's turn to smile as he shook his head "Tsk, Tsk. Kell you can't attack someone directly when they have a monster in play."

"What?!" Kell yelped in surprise. Another rainbow colored portal had appeared and D.D. Survivor reappeared, pressing several buttons on a panel on his arm. (1800/200) He noticed Makyura rushing towards him, and drew his Dimensional Samurai sword from beneath his tattered cloak and sliced through the purple warrior without a second thought.

Davis-4000LP

Kell Zephyr-3200LP

"How did you do that?" Kell demanded. Davis closed his eyes and gave a small smile. "You've been playing with only rare cards for too long Kell. D.D. Survivor is a common card so you wouldn't be familiar with his effect. He can't be removed from play. He's a wandering warrior who spent years trying to return to his home dimension, he knows the pathways between the worlds well, and can always return to me."

"I see," Kell said. "You knew your Big Bang Shot's major weakness so you purposely placed it on the one monster that wouldn't be weakened by it. I'm impressed. But you destroyed Makyura yet again so I can activate trap cards in my hand."

Davis braced himself.

"Mechanical Construction," He said holding up the trap card. "Allows me to summon a machine monster from my deck with an attack power under five hundred. So I'll summon Trap Orb (0/0)"

A small sphere appeared on Kell's field. It looked like a large pearl, but it had a light purple tint to it.

Davis frowned again, unfamiliar with the card, while Eli frowned from the sidelines recognizing it.

Eli wasn't about to tell Davis what it did, he was a firm believer in a duelist dueling for themselves. He would prefer Davis loosing to him being told how to win.

"I also active another Trap from my hand," Kell said. "Rope of Life! I discard my hand and bring back Makyura eight hundred points stronger. (2400/1200) I then activate my other face-down card Disgraceful Charity, which places the cards I just discarded back in my hand. Then I active an extremely rare trap card that's known as a Trap-monster: Embodiment of Apophis! (1600/1600)"

As the last trap card was placed on the field Kell slapped it on a monster card zone, not in the Spell/Trap zone.

"That was all done during my turn," Kell said. "I hope you've got some good cards left."

Davis drew. "Card of Sanctity!" He said drawing. Kell looked disgusted again as the card forced him to pick up more cards.

"You run far too many Spellcasters Davis," Kell said. "They're Spell dependant those Spellcaster monsters. Against my deck Spells are a liability not an asset. You'll soon see."

Davis glanced at his new fresh hand. He'd drawn good cards, but nothing strong enough to defeat Kell's 2400 point Makyura.

"I place this card face-down," Davis said setting a monster. "I switch my D.D. Survivor to defense mode and activate my Dimensional Fissure Spell card."

A huge diamond-shaped rift in the Time-Space continuum opened up behind Davis. Volts of electricity and a violent windstorm rushed over the field.

"As long as this card remains in play," Davis said. "Monsters are sent to the graveyard, but removed from play instead."

Kell shielded his face with his arms as the fissure's windstorm continued blowing the leaves about the park.

"I warned you Davis," the former Rare-Hunter said. "I don't like Spell Cards. I sacrifice my Trap Orb as tribute for my Spell Canceller (1800/1500)"

Instantly the fissure behind Davis closed, slamming shut with a loud bang.

"Spell Canceller?" Davis asked.

"It's like a Jinzo," Kell said. "But for Spell cards."

"Uh oh!" Davis said out loud. He had no trap cards in his hand and the only trap he had on his field was Dimensional Inversion. Not a useful trap in this situation.

"Makyura!" Kell said. "Attack his facedown card."

The Purple warrior lunged and attacked the down card. There was a brilliant burst of Rainbow-colored light and Davis's D.D. Assailant (1700/1600) and Makyura vanished.

Kell let out a low growl, but gestured towards Apophis the snake-warrior lunged and sliced D.D. Survivor in two.

"Spell Canceller," Kell said. "Attack his life-points!"

A laser beam blasted from Spell Canceller's core and struck Davis hard in the chest.

Davis-2200LP

Kell Zephyr-3200LP

"I set three cards and that's my turn," Kell said.

Davis drew. "I set one card face-down and summon my D.D. Kuriboh in defense mode." (300/200)

A small blue version of Kuriboh, with rainbow-colored eyes appeared atop a giant image of his card. It chirped happily.

"That's it for me." Davis said.

Kell's eyes remained wide with shock. "What?"

Davis cocked his eyebrow waiting for Kell to make his move.

"D.D. Kuriboh?" Kell asked. "Is that the best you could do?"

Davis shrugged.

"I'm not even sure if I should be dueling you after that." Kell said. He sighed. "I summon another Trap Orb (0/0) in attack mode. Apophis, attack that fur-ball!"

The D.D. Kuriboh panicked and began floating all over the field as the Serpent chased it around the field.

"I activate my trap card," Davis said. "Karma Cut. This trap let's me discard one card from my hand, D.D. Designator will do. Now I can remove Spell Canceller from play!"

A rainbow colored portal appeared in behind the Spell Canceller and dragged the machine inside.

There was a burst of light as the Fissure Re-opened behind Davis. Apophis finally caught up with D.D. Kuriboh and sliced him in half. The two halves of the little Kuriboh went flying into the rift behind Davis.

"Now I can activate my trap card," Davis said. "Dimensional Inversion, which brings back D.D. Kuriboh! (300/200)"

A swirling vortex appeared on the ground and lifted up into the air. The D.D. Kuriboh fell from the portal and hit the ground unceremoniously. This didn't faze the little guy however, he just leapt up into the air and floated around Davis's head chirping.

Kell's eye twitched at the return of the D.D. Kuriboh.

"D.D. Cards require precision to operate," Davis said. "A healthy combination a Spells and Traps to work. You dislike Spell cards, I get that. But like it or not, Spell cards are a part of this game. I can use them again so I activate Pot of Greed!"

Davis drew two cards.

"I play Monster Reborn to revive D.D. Survivor." He said feeling Grateful that he could use spell cards again. "And I sacrifice my D.D. Kuriboh for Dark Magician Girl! (2000/1700)"

The fuzzy D.D. Card finally vanished as Davis's Favorite Spellcaster took to the field.

"Dark Magician Girl," Davis said pointing to the Embodiment of Apophis. "Destroy that snake!"

The Spellcaster giggled and pointed her staff at the Serpent and fired a burning attack at him. The blast hit and the card shattered apart. Since it was really a trap, it was not removed from play like D.D. Kuriboh was.

Davis-2200LP

Kell Zephyr-2800LP

"I don't know what your Trap Orb does," Davis said. "But I'm certain it's not good, so I'll place two cards facedown and end my turn playing it safe."

Kell chuckled.

"Playing it safe Davis?" Kell asked. "That's not going to work against what I just drew. It's my rarest card and also my most powerful." He turned the card around to reveal a red colored dragon with a long white horn. It had six stars and its stats were (2200/1400) Davis could see from the card coloring that it was an effect monster.

Eli gasped and stepped back. "That's a White-Horned Dragon!"

Davis glanced at Eli, Eli seemed familiar with the monster, but Davis had no clue.

"I've been trying to get one for years!" Eli said. "They're extremely rare; in fact only twenty five were ever printed."

Kell smiled wickedly. "Time for you to see my rarest card's real power! I offer my Trap Orb as a tribute for White Horned Dragon! (2200/1400)"

The Orb vanished as the dragon rose in its place. The large white horn on the dragon's forehead began glowing.

"Why's his horn glowing like that?" Davis asked Eli. Eli shook his head refusing to tell him anymore.

"It's simple Davis," Kell said. "When White-Horned Dragon is summoned he removes from play up to five Spell cards from the opposing graveyard. Then he gains attack points equal to the Spell cards he removed. That's Big Bang Shot, Card of Sanctity, D.D. Designator, Pot of Greed, and Monster Reborn."

Davis's DD2 spat out the five Spell cards and Kell's Dragon roared! (2700/1400)

"Whoa!" Davis said stepping back.

"I also activate two more Embodiment of Apophis cards (1600x2)" Kell said.

"White-Horned Dragon attack and destroy Dark Magician Girl!" Kell ordered. "Electro-Thunder!"

The Dragon opened its mouth and a massive Fire-ball appeared and launched at Davis. Volts of electricity shot from the horn and enhanced the attack. The blast hit Dark Magician Girl and sent her flying back into Davis's vortex.

Davis-1500LP

Kell Zephyr-2800LP

Kell's Apophis cards hissed at D.D. Survivor, but could not do anything about him.

"Survivor's next Davis," Kell said. "He may be immortal on this field, but he still takes damage. I activate my face-down Dragon's Rage Trap Card. End Turn."

Davis smiled. "There is no next turn for you Kell," he said. "You see your deck is extremely powerful, but it has one massive weakness."

Davis flipped around a spell card in his hand.

"Another spell card?" Kell scoffed.

Davis shook his head. "Not just any Spell card Kell," He responded. "This is my rarest card. It's called Borrowed Time! I can treat it as any card from any player's deck. I will borrow from my friend Daniel Pilkington and treat it as Jinzo! (2400/1500)"

Kell stepped back in horror. "No! Not him, any card but him!"

"I offer D.D. Survivor as tribute to summon Jinzo," Davis said. The survivor vanished as Davis placed Jinzo on his field. The Survivor re-appeared instantly.

Jinzo fired blasts from his eyes that struck Kell's two Embodiments of Apophis and Kell's facedown card.

"Now I activate my face-down card Serial spell," Davis said. "Which I can use to copy the effect of one spell card on my field. I'll copy Borrowed Time and treat Serial Spell as Limiter Removal!"

The "Jinzo" on Davis's field began hissing loudly, and certain wires and sprockets came flying off as the safety mechanisms were removed. (4800/1500)

"Jinzo," Davis said. "Destroy White-Horned Dragon! Cybernetic Blast!"

A sphere of energy appeared between Jinzo's two hands and fired at Kell's dragon. The blast enveloped the beast and when the smoke cleared there was nothing.

Davis-1500LP

Kell Zephyr-700LP

"D.D. Survivor," Davis said, and pointed at Kell. The warrior understood and launched itself across the field.

Davis-1500LP

Kell Zephyr-0LP

Kell bowed his head and walked over to Davis.

"As per our agreement," Kell said. "My rarest card, the White-Horned Dragon and my Locator card. Until we meet again."

He gave Davis a light salute, and turned and walked past Eli.

"Eli," Kell said. "Taking care of that god-card I hope?"

Eli said nothing and didn't move as Kell walked past him.

"Davis," Eli said. "Is Kell gone?"

"Yeah," Davis said looking behind him.

"Good," The Chaos duelist said. "I didn't want him overhearing what I'm about to tell you. My mansion was broken into four days ago."

Davis shrugged as he placed the White-Horned Dragon into his deck. "So, you need a better security system. Why are you bringing this up?"

"Davis you don't understand," Eli said. "I've been trying to get a hold of you and your wife and Achmed ever since it happened. Why aren't you answering your cell phone?"

Davis shrugged. "We always turn our phones off before a big tournament, makes it less distracting when constructing our decks why?"

"Davis," Eli said slowly. "They took the god cards…"

_To be continued…_

**Original Cards:**

Knight's Calling

Sir Tristram the Brave Knight

Sir Percival the Grail Knight

Sir Gawain the Courageous Knight

Meridian Knight

Nosferatu Knight

Lycanthropic Knight

Lady Buffy the Neo-Knight

The Once and Future King: Pendragon

Mechanical Construction

Trap Orb

Borrowed Time

**Original Cards by Wolf General:**

D.D. Kuriboh


	4. Card Guardian

**Yu-Gi-Oh!: Return of the King!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Daniel Pilkington, Deondre Anderson, CJ Anderson, & Rikuo Amero, are property of the Wolf General. Kai Knight is property of Guardian Master; Kell Zephyr is mine, but he was inspired by Vyser Dragoon.

**Author's Notes: **I have used every card in _Legendary Warriors_. There will actually be a checklist. The newest set of cards: _Emblem of the Heroes_ is where my original cards come from now (Unless I otherwise state)

_King Arthur turned. Wolf and Buffy had been whispering behind his back ever since the first turn defeat of Weevil and Rex._

"_Is something wrong?" the King asked._

"_It's just that," Buffy stammered. "The way you defeated Rex and Weevil. That was scary."_

_The emperor sighed. "They were not very skilled duelists, so I decided to take them down as quickly as possible. It's not an issue is it?"_

"_You held back against me didn't you?" Wolf asked._

_The king said nothing as they approached their next opponent._

"_You challenge Bandit Keith?" the duelist said._

"_He did," Wolf said slowly…_

"I set two cards face-down and attack your Quicksilver Knight with my Guardian Kay'est," Kai said. The weak water monster pointed her Rod of Silence at the small silver warrior.

Ice froze over the card, which shattered apart.

Asriel grinned. "When Quicksilver Knight is destroyed I can summon Quicksilver tokens to my field. Their attack and defense points match your monsters attack and defense points."

Two small silver suits of armor appeared on Asriel's field. (500/2200) (1000/1800)

Kai frowned, and then signaled ending his turn.

"I sacrifice my two Quicksilver Knights for my Dark Magician!" Asriel said sliding the card onto her duel disk.

Since its creation Dark Magician had received more attention than any other card in the game. Several editions of the card had been printed, and it had more potential evolutions than any other card in the game.

There was the Purple Dark Magician, which Yugi Muto used. The Red Dark Magician which was played by the magician Arkaina. Davis's Dark Magician, which was unique to him, and the Violet Dark Magician, which was the one that Asriel used.

The armor on the violet Dark Magician was jagged, pointier. The purple Dark Magician, as well as Davis's had a more round and organic shape to it's armor. The Red and violet Dark Magicians all seemed to be triangular.

"Dark Magician!" Asriel exclaimed. She pointed at Guardian Kay'est. "Dark Magic Attack!"

"Active reverse card," Kai said. His two face-down cards flipped up. "Tailor of the Fickle. Tailor will re-equip Backup Gaurdna with the Rod of Silence. Kay'est can't be attacked, so your attack goes to my Gaurdna. (500/2700)"

The purple beast and the mermaid shimmered and then swapped places. The magic attack struck the beast and rebounded back hitting the magician but not causing serious injury.

Kai-4000LP

Asriel-3800LP

"What's with the Dark Magician?" Kai asked. "I thought that you ran warriors. Don't tell me you suddenly changed types on me."

"I run knights," Asriel responded. "And every court has a powerful magician advisor. King Arthur had Merlin, I've got Dark Magician."

Kai shrugged. "Whatever."

"I set two cards myself," Asriel said. "Now let's see what you've got."

Kai grinned and drew.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Eden Sidi Hotel, at the mouth of the Ambinanimananano Atsimo River Madagascar:_

Leo sighed at the ghost crab that scuttled by his feet. He doodled some images in the sand. The hotel's lemurs chattered in the trees nearby, hoping that tourists would give them some bananas.

The Eden Sidi was about as far away as Leo had been able to get. Leo couldn't stand cities anymore. Having spent six years of his life under the control of the demon Legion, Leo was now sensitive to demonic presences. Most people didn't even realize it, but demons, fallen angels rather, were everywhere.

They were especially drawn to cities; every major city in the world had some kind of powerful demon running it, like some kind of Underworld Kingpin. They knew about Leo's sensitivity to their presence. They hunted him like a dog.

Leo's only recourse had been escape. He'd left the States; he'd left the major countries. That's not to say that there weren't demons in third world countries, their were, but they were fewer, and of much lower rank than demons like Apollyon, Beelzebub, Balthazar, and some of the other demons he knew of through Legion.

Leo didn't like being cut off like he was, but he also felt he had no choice.

"I hope Davis got my package," he wondered out loud. Then his senses tingled, a cold chill went down his spine.

Leo leapt to his feet and spun around. There was the presence. He wasn't very tall, maybe five foot three, he wore a red outfit, a sort of dated pirate costume complete with hat. He had a large bushy black beard, and wore a duel disk on his left arm. Leo didn't recognize the duel disk; it had to be one of Kaiba's new ones.

He knew that Kaiba was hosting a tournament in New York, and he'd even been invited, but New York was the last place for someone with Leo's sensitivities to be.

"Who are you?" Leo demanded of the "man" walking up the beach towards him.

"My name is Edward Teach," he said. "Perhaps you've heard of me?"

"You don't fool me," Leo said. "That's your host's name. Who are you really?"

The man seemed taken aback. "Very well Leo, I was once a Principality named Kaym guardian of the gates, but now I go by Lord Kaym."

"Kaym?" Leo asked. "You're an awfully long way from New Orleans Lord Kaym."

Leo had heard Kaym's name mentioned several times in the course of conversations between Legion and Apollyon. As he understood it, Kaym was the demonic ruler of New Orleans.

"You know much," Kaym said. "But enough idle chat boy. Where is the key?"

Leo shook his head. "You'll never get that information from me."

"Oh I beg to differ," Kaym said. "I know it sounds clichéd, but we have ways of making you talk."

Leo stepped back; he knew he was in trouble. Behind him was the river, and there was no way he could swim it. And Kaym was between him and the hotel. He glanced at his book-bag on the ground beside him. He lunged and grabbed the duel disk from the back and placed it on his arm.

Kaym smiled. "You think you can duel your way out of this one do you?"

The fallen angel began speaking words that Leo did not understand, in a language he'd never heard before.

Flames erupted in a circle around them and then faded away very quickly. There were scorch marks in the sand in the shapes of twisted and wicked symbols.

"I've just initiated a Hell game," Kaym said. His duel disk clicked into place as did Leo's. "Darkness games, Sage's Games, they're all pale imitations of this kind of game, because there is nothing worse than a Hell Game. In this game, the loser goes to Hell!"

Beads of sweat covered Leo's forehead as he realized the implications. He'd heard Apollyon and Legion speak of Hell in hushed tones. They feared it. Hell was a place of eternal torment and damnation to be certain, but it was for all those who were enemies of God, demons included.

Leo-4000LP

Teach/Kaym-4000LP

"Then I'll go first," Leo said, fear still guiding his actions. "I summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior in attack mode." (1500/1800)

A pudgy magnet warrior appeared in front of Leo, a light hum came from his body, and Leo was sure that he could smell iron. His monster was 100 real. He was sure of that. Small metal objects like a paper clip in the sand slid forward and hit the magnet monster.

"I set a card face-down." Leo said cautiously. "And that's my turn."

"Well then," Kaym said smiling. "I summon Skull Mariner in attack mode!" (1600/1200)

An enormous pirate ship appeared behind Kaym. Its cannons rolled to the portholes and popped out.

"Fire!" Kaym yelled!"

"Activate Polarity Switch!" Leo said gesturing to his facedown card. It flipped up showing an image of the three magnet warriors placing their hands in a circle.

"An Emblem of Heroes card?" Kaym asked in surprise. "That's a bran new series, how did you get that card?"

"EBay," Leo responded happily. "What it does is activate when you attack a Magnet Warrior. I can special summon another Magnet warrior and redirect the attack to that warrior. Come forth Beta the Magnet Warrior!" (1700/1600)

A yellow magnet being appeared in front next to Gamma, the cannonball swerved in midair and flew towards Beta, who's magnets hummed and launched the cannonball right back at the Pirate Ship. The ship exploded and pieces of the boat fell scattered onto the field, but the boat did not shatter into digital pixels or fade away.

It was then that Leo was certain. This game was for keeps.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I activate Guardian's Armory," Kai said. "This card becomes the equipment card for a guardian monster in my hand."

Asriel pursed her lips. This meant that he could summon any guardian monster without need for its equipment card on the field.

"Guardian Aiatos," Kai said flipping the card around. "I don't have her equipment card in my hand, but she's the monster that I'm summoning."

He placed the guardian on the field. A beautiful angel appeared in a flurry of feathers. She wore American Indian garb, and though she was powerful, she seemed quite gentile. (2500/2100)

"Without her equipment card you can't overpower my Dark Magician," Asriel said, unsurprised that Kai had summoned her without a tribute.

"True enough," Kai said. "I've got three cards in my hand, and I'm setting all three of them."

Three giant images of the cards appeared in front of Kai.

Kai signaled the end of his turn. Asriel drew.

"I play the Allied Forces," She said, a giant image of the card appeared behind the Dark Magician, and the Magician's staff began to glow.

"This allows Spellcasters and Warriors to share each others power," Asriel said. "Though Spellcasters don't get a boost my Queen's Knight does! (1900/1600)" The female member of the royal tri-knights appeared next to Dark Magician.

"It's amazing the kind of power that comes from team work," Asriel said winking.

"Can't beat Aiatos," Kai said shaking his head.

"True," Asriel said. "I'll just place two cards facedown."

Kai stiffened as he drew. He knew Asriel had something big planned.

"I activate Gravity Axe-Grarl," Kai said. "Then I set two cards facedown and summon Guardian Grarl!" (3000/1000)

A large dinosaur wielding an ax appeared by Kai. "With attack points that match that of a Blue-Eyes, my Guardian will take out the Dark Magician!"

The enormous lizard lifted up his ax and lunged at Asriel's Magician. Dark Magician never flinched as Asriel countered with her Negate Attack.

Kai smiled as she drew. "What's with you and Knight cards anyway?"

Asriel looked surprised at the question. "Don't you know about the Knights?"

Kai shook his head.

"Before he created Duel Monsters," Asriel said. "Pegasus journeyed around the world, gathering up legends and stories of monsters that were summoned to do their masters wishes. In great Britain Pegasus encountered a mysterious old man, who told him to make the Knights."

"King's Knight," Asriel said. (2200/1400) "And Jack's Knight! (2700/1500) In attack mode. (QK: 2300/1600; KK: (2400/1400)

Kai was beginning to look concerned.

"Jack's Knight, attack his Guardian Aiatos now!" Asriel declared. "Royal Slasher!"

The blond warrior lunged at the Angelic Guardian, but she vanished in a shower of light before he could reach her.

"Monster Recovery," Kai said. "Shuffles Aiatos back into my deck."

"Why?" Asriel asked surprised.

"I'm the Card Guardian Asriel," Kai said. "You know that from the Washington D.C. tournament. What kind of Guardian would I be if I simply allowed my monsters to be destroyed? A guardian deck focuses heavily on preventing monsters from going to the card graveyard."

Kai had no hand, so he couldn't draw any new cards.

Asriel nodded in understanding as Kai Knight drew his next card.

"King's Ransom," Kai said holding it up. "Costs One thousand Life Points but lets me draw four cards."

Kai-3000LP

Asriel-3800LP

Kai picked up four cards and looked over them carefully, surveying his options. "I set one monster in Defense mode," Kai said. "End turn."

"Awfully cautious," Asriel responded. "Particularly for someone who claims that they won't let their monsters go to the card graveyard."

Kai said nothing.

"I sacrifice my Tri-Knights," Asriel said. "For Gilford the Lightning!" (3200/1400)

The trio of knights vanished from the field as one of Asriel's most powerful warriors appeared in its place. The Lightning warrior raised his sword to the sky; volts of electricity launched into the air and came crackling down towards Kai's field.

"NO!" Kai exclaimed, he punched a button on his duel disk and then shoved his monsters aside, leaping to the center of the field. The lightning bolt struck him, and not his monsters.

"What?" Asriel yelped in surprise.

Kai-1500LP

Asriel-3800LP

Kai gasped. "My quick-play spell card: My Body as a Shield lets me take damage to my life points instead of allowing them to die."

"Wow!" Asriel said, genuinely surprised. "You're really committed to this whole not allowing your monsters to be destroyed thing."

Kai nodded, moving back to his original position. "Card Guardian, Asriel."

"I'm sorry," Asriel said. "It's quite the noble quest, but I've got to clear your field to win."

Kai just smiled.

"You've only one more trap card face down," Asriel said. "Let's see what it is. Gilford attack his Grarl!" The lightning warrior raised his blade and launched the attack across the field.

The lightning bolt hit Grarl, but the monster was not destroyed.

"Saving Play," Kai said. "Prevents destruction of one monster."

Kai-1300LP

Asriel-3800LP

"Dark Magician!" Asriel said. The Spellcaster understood and launched his attack against the face-down monster.

(100/2500)

"My Paladin Defender," Kai said.

Kai drew and glanced at his card. A smile crossed his face. "This is it! My ultimate spell card. A continuous card that will shuffle monsters sent to the graveyard as tributes or through battle back into my deck."

"Recycling Swordplay," Kai said. The card didn't seem all that ominous. Its image showed a Kuriboh hovering above a recycle bin.

Asriel's eyes narrowed. "I have another ax for my Grarl," Kai said grinning. "The Axe of Despair!"(4000/1000)

"Gilford is no more," Kai said. The dinosaur lunged and with his two axes sliced the lightning warrior in half, his body collapsed and disappeared into the card graveyard."

"Your monster may be powerful," Asriel said. "But this duel is far from over."

**To Be Continued…**

_From the Dairy of Maximillion Pegasus:_

_Jan 8,_

_I have traveled quite far in these past four years, and have found many inspirations for my new card game. The most noteworthy was of course in Egypt, where I believe that the game originated. The most significant of these cards are the Dark Magician and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. I have decided that they'll have 2500 and 3000 attack points respectively._

_In India I discovered the spirit monsters, and in Japan, the Demon Lords. I also met Wayfinder in Japan, the stranger has inspired me to create a whole set of dimensional monsters. The more I travel, the more monsters I discover._

_I was at Stonehenge last week, and at that site I met the strangest old man. He wore a green cloak and had a long white beard. He told fantastic stories about the Knights of the Round Table and of other Knights I'd never heard of. He told me about the Invincible Knight Gearfried._

_But that was not the strange thing. The strange thing was after he'd told me all of these amazing stories; he gave me a scroll with all of the statistics that these knights were to have in the game. Every single one. It's as if he knew that I was creating a card game and he wanted to make certain that these Knights got their names in the Game._

**Original Cards:**

Guardian's Armory

Quicksilver Knight

Polarity Switch

**Original Cards Created by Time Mage:**

King's Ransom

**Original Cards Created by Seeker of the Soul:**

Saving Play

**Original Cards created by Wolf General:**

None

**Original Cards Created by Guardian Master:**

Paladin Defender


End file.
